Banana and Chia Seed Blender Pancakes

You are in for a treat today! Not only are these pancakes way too easy to throw together, they are SOOOO delicious. These soft, almost creamy pancakes get naturally sweetened by a ripe banana, and they also get a little nutritious boost from the addition of chia seeds. It had been a little while since I pulled out my bag of chia seeds from the pantry, but they are such a great addition to these blender pancakes.

You could add fresh berries or a few chopped chocolate chips to this recipe to jazz these up even more, but try them plain first because I think you’ll be surprised by how amazing these are all on their own. But, I am definitely a pancake lover! So I may be a bit biased. 🙂

In a jar combine the water and chia seeds. If the jar has a lid, then give this a good shake for a minute or two. If not, you can just stir well. Allow the chia seeds to sit and soak for at least 5-8 minutes (longer is OK too) so they begin to develop a gel looking coating around the seeds.

Heat a nonstick pan or skillet over low/medium heat. Add a little oil to the pan. Pour about 3 tablespoons to 1/4 cup of batter into the heated pan. Wait until you see bubbles beginning to form in the batter and you can easily pull up the edges with a spatula. Then, gently work your spatula under the pancake and give it a quick flip over to the other side. Cook until the pancake is cooked through. I usually consider my first pancake a test pancake so I can figure out how many minutes to cook each side so it gets done all the way. Once you get the timing down, cook away until you’re out of batter! Remember to add a little more oil to the pan if you notice the pancakes beginning to stick. And also I find a little oil will help to create some slightly crispy edges, which I love in homemade pancakes.

Serve with fresh fruit, soft scrambled eggs, and you’ll want to make sure you have some maple syrup on hand! I love 100% pure maple syrup. Also peanut butter would be really good on these too. 🙂 Just a couple of notes here, guys, and then you should make yourself some pancakes ASAP.

-Soaking the chia seeds not only will help to thicken your batter (because of the gel-like coating around the seeds), but I’ve also read that this is actually making the seeds sprout. Which makes them easier to digest and allows your body to access all their nutritional value. So don’t skip it. You can soak these for much longer than the initial 5-8 minutes, like even overnight. But if you aren’t much of a planner, just let them soak at least this long while you go make a pot of coffee or something.

-If you want to keep these dairy free, just use any dairy free milk you prefer (soy, almond, cashew, etc.). Even coconut milk with cream here would be great, but I probably wouldn’t open a can just for this as you’ll only need 1/2 cup.

-I haven’t tried swapping out the all-purpose flour with other flours yet (like whole wheat options or gluten free), but if anyone does, please let us know how it went! I have a feeling many other flours could work well here, but I am hesitant to recommend anything until I’ve tried it.